Saturday, April 01, 2006

What's Important for Mania Today

It was interesting to read that WWE is going back and forth on finishes for Mania. Of course long term booking would be better, but what I find interesting about that is that the finishes to this show really aren't all that important compared to a lot of years. The finishes aren't going to make or break just about anyone on the card. The top three priorities of the company to me should be these:

1) Make sure it's a good show. Give time to the matches that will be good. Don't give as much time to the matches that won't. WrestleMania needs to feel special and fun, and even if the build isn't the greatest, if people go out happy all isn't lost. Think WrestleMania 13. Worst buy rate of all time, but a strong Austin-Bret match and Chicago street fight left people satisfied and built future business. This needs to be a good show to get the best possible reaction from the crowd.

2) John Cena needs to be protected. As was obvious from his reaction at the Hall of Fame, he has enormous heat from a segment of the fan base. They need to find a way to get him into a better position badly. A double turn might work. A hard fought loss where he gives it his all, and then turns on the fans afterwards because they didn't respect him after all that might work as well. But him getting beaten decisively and then continuing with his character as is could be a real problem. They need to do everything they can to ensure Cena doesn't get buried.

3) Get over Edge to the next level. He's the guy that's the closest thing to a breakout star on the roster. His feud with Mick Foley has picked up, and this match is key. I think the show should be structured to give him a chance to steal it.

2 Comments:

Dave S. said...

I agree that the finishes won't make or break anyone, but they will have a huge effect on how entertaining the two shows will be for the next few months. If HHH and Randy Orton are the champions, I will have no desire to watch either show. Both guys are boring and I find them both very dislikeable.

I don't think Cena is all that great, but I'd rather see him as the focus of Raw instead of HHH. Plus, he could pick up his feud with Edge that seemed to be working so well. And Mysterio definitely deserves a run at the top of Smackdown, even if it's only for a month or two; plus, I think he could draw better money and ratings than anyone else on that show.

You said it yourself, Cena has a ton of heat, so why does he need to get in a "better position" so badly? The problem with WWE over the past few years was that it had become so predictable. Now you have Edge, HHH, and Cena at the top of the card, and sure no one knows who to cheer for, but who cares? Rather, a lot of people care. No one is really being force fed as a face or heel right now, the people are cheering for who they please, and it's entertaining. I'm watching regularly again for the first time in 4 years. I say, let Cena keep doing what he's doing. He's the number one babyface that's secretly a heel. He's getting legit heat, and I think the Wrestlemania buyrate will be decent, so why don't we just let WWE explore some uncharted waters and see if the fans will continue to accept the ambiguity without being forcefed.